[manacho2005]

I have the non-DG version; with a little practice, it produces pretty crisp images.

[mickey]

Fine examples.
I'm still looking into a 500mm lens and this is on the short list.
Price is a factor and don't think I can afford the Bigma secondhand.

Probably between this and the 170-500.

[OJGoreng]

This is my walkaround lens . Mine's the old, cheap, non-DG version as well. Here's a few examples; be aware these all have been cropped to some extent, and had some post-processing (exposure correction and a fairly conservative bit of USM) applied. I horribly suck a post-processing, generally leading to me overdoing it, so take that for whatever it's worth. All shots taken with a K-5 mostly @500mm, supposedly the "bad" end of the focus range; if you want to see the EXIF data, additional info or a larger format, just click through for the versions on Flickr. All animals pictured are wildlife, mostly shot in or around Amsterdam.

Handheld:
















Despite the distance, the coded research tag could still be read after blowing up the image; this young Caspian gull in Amsterdam turned out to have been ringed as a chick in southern Poland.






From a tripod:

[Des]

These are also from the non-DG version (which I have recently sold). I found that the best results have come when the lens is stopped down one or two stops (f8-f10 at the long end). Even then most shot benefit from increasing the contrast and vibrancy in PP. Some shots showed significant falloff of light from centre to edge, so vignetting correction may be required. The lens also does much better when the subject is not too distant (say within 20m).

This sequence taken at 170mm, 250mm, 300mm. 400mm and 500mm. All handheld, f8.

Some shots in the field.


---------- Post added 02-25-15 at 05:31 PM ----------

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Last edited by Des; 02-24-2015 at 11:29 PM.